Aquarium stand help

mrhasan · #1 12-31-2015, 08:46 PM

Well not the best day for DIY. Bought 2x4 from home depont, paid $38 to cut them (they are now charging $2 for every cut) and now the stand looks like this (thank's to not-so-straight wood):

2015-12-31 14.16.07 by M Raied Hasan, on Flickr

I am not the best DIYer out there so I need some advise on what to use as stand. I can get a JBJ 29 gallon stand or an ikea stand. Any idea which ikea stands will be able to hold the weight of the tank? It is a 16"x20"x15" (~ 20 gallon) tank. Thanks in advance

intarsiabox · #2 12-31-2015, 11:54 PM

Home Depot has always had the sign for the cut charge but your the first I've ever heard of actually getting charged. I'm sure the stands at IKEA would hold the weight but keep in mind that none of them are designed to. The cheap stands at the pet stores are built worse than IKEA stuff and they still manage to do the job. Canada Corals used Bosch t-slot aluminum to build their stands as an alternative, it looks really good too. Maybe it's time to invest in a miter saw and just fix the lumber, plus the good ones last forever and they always come in handy.

Myka · #3 12-31-2015, 11:57 PM

Were you planning to skin the stand? I say who cares what the 2x4s look like underneath. It's only a 20-gallon tank and hopes and dreams could hold it up.

WarDog · #4 12-31-2015, 11:57 PM

Could you not pull the screws out, level it and then re-screw?

intarsiabox · #5 01-01-2016, 12:06 AM

Looking at right side of the tank compared to the wall it is out quite a bit. I don't think just skinning it will fix that. I guess a lot of shim and then skinning could work but I don't think the wood was cut very well.

intarsiabox · #6 01-01-2016, 12:12 AM

Another option would be to add adjustable feet in each corner. They are pretty cheap and only require a drill, hammer and wrench for adjusting.

Myka · #7 01-01-2016, 12:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by intarsiabox

Looking at right side of the tank compared to the wall it is out quite a bit. I don't think just skinning it will fix that. I guess a lot of shim and then skinning could work but I don't think the wood was cut very well.

I didn't even see that! Haha!

That's probably got more to do with assembly than the cuts. I'm sure they used a radial arm saw, and it couldn't be off that much. It's gotta be squared up before it's glued/screwed.

intarsiabox · #8 01-01-2016, 12:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Myka

I didn't even see that! Haha!

That's probably got more to do with assembly than the cuts. I'm sure they used a radial arm saw, and it couldn't be off that much. It's gotta be squared up before it's glued/screwed.

Yea, maybe a redo will solve his issues.

mrhasan · #9 01-01-2016, 12:48 AM

Thanks for all the great input guys. I will reply to all the posts in one post

1. I have cut from home depot before for free too but this time, the guy charged me $2/cut and I had 18 cuts. The cashier was telling me I could have bought my own saw with a little more money. I told him that I was never charged before and he told me that the management recently got very strict about this since there are people picking up expensive wood to get very accurate cut (while home depot only guarantee the cut to be accurate to certain inches) and not pay for the wood even if the measurement was 1/8" off. Plus I can't get a saw because I live in a rented apartment and the sound of saw might be unpleasant for the neighbors.

2. I wasn't planning on skinning the stand (I am not much of an handyman) plus the sand is too twisted to be skinned. I am not very good with wood works but this one was down right terrible

3. I made the height of the stand so tall that the curvature of the wood got in the way and I couldn't get it straightened out (tried doing that). The cute were accurate (well almost) but the one or two of the woods were too bent.

Since I had to learn the hard way that I am not very good at making wood structures (my last stand was good but this was embarrassingly terrible), I ordered an oceanic biocube 29 gallon tank stand from J&L. Should have saved the money I spend on the lumbers and the cut and get it from J&L in the first place; on well, year end lesson learnt

And since the stand is made for 29 gallon tank (and the dimensions are prefect for my tank), I am sure it will hold just fine.

Man that stand is embarrassing

e46er · #10 01-01-2016, 12:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by intarsiabox

Looking at right side of the tank compared to the wall it is out quite a bit. I don't think just skinning it will fix that. I guess a lot of shim and then skinning could work but I don't think the wood was cut very well.

well I agree it needs to be fixed (pull the screws out, level it rescrew it.)
I wouldnt use the house walls as "square" either. houses settle, wood isnt straight, framers are drunk/stoned whatever. walls in finished houses are very rarely "perfectly" square.
A small tank like that Id imagine almost EVERY ikea table stand bench would hold it longterm